Tag: Ali Bongo

A Paris court on Thursday fined French journalist and writer Pierre Pean 1,000 euros ($1,170) and ordered him to pay a symbolic one euro in damages in a libel case brought by Gabonese President Ali Bongo.

In a 2014 book called “Nouvelles affaires africaines” (“New African Affairs”), Pean insinuated that Bongo was behind two attempts to assassinate Jean-Pierre Lemboumba, who was once a close aide to his father, former president Omar Bongo.

The accusations were “very serious” but had “insufficient” facts to support them, the court ruled.

However Bongo lost his complaint against other parts of the book in which Pean accused him of ordering the poisoning of Georges Rawiri, the president of Gabon’s Senate, and of having fomented an “electoral coup d’etat” in 2009.

The court ruled that Pean had produced “solid, varied, abundant and concurring” documents to justify the statements were made in good faith.

Under France’s libel laws, defendants must provide evidence that a statement was true or not defamatory or intended in good faith.

The fines in France are modest by the standards of other countries.

Pean’s lawyer, Florence Bourg, said the ruling was “very positive overall,” given that the passages about Rawiri had not been judged libellous.

An attorney for Bongo, Delphine Meillet, said the president “is delighted that Pierre Pean has been sentenced for this tract, whose sole aim was to discredit and delegitimise him”.

Ali Bongo took over power from Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years until his death in 2009.

Bongo was re-elected in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes, prompting the opposition to accuse the administration of electoral fraud.

Gabon has large oil, mineral and tropical timber resources, and its per-capita national income is four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan nations.

But about a third of its population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line — the result, say specialists, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.

Gabon insists it is ready to host the African Cup of Nations despite concern about the state of preparations amid political instability just one month ahead of the opening ceremony.

The CAN is due to run from January 14 to February 5 next year but was thrown into doubt after violence broke out following President Ali Bongo’s controversial re-election in August.

Call for Africa’s showcase football tournament to be moved to a different country were heard following rioting after the vote whose outcome is still contested.

Four cities will host the tournament and unrest was reported in at least two of them including Oyem, the northern city close to Cameroon, where delays in work on the football stadium are causing problems.

In September, Sports Minister Nicole Assele expressed her “concerns” when visiting the new stadium where the group made up of African champions Ivory Coast, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo will play.

Assele was left in doubt over the “finishing of the changing rooms, the lifts and the exterior of the stadium”, while Gabon daily newspaper L’Union, which covered her visit, reported that the stadium had yet to be connected to electricity and running potable water.

The newspaper published a photo on Monday showing the stadium’s patchy grass covering, with a caption saying: “Given the holes in certain parts, there’s still work to be done to make it a quality pitch.”

Groundsman Jean-Daniel Ndong Nze, a former professional player, explained that his team were adding sand to reinforce and level out the pitch.

Another group made up of Algeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Senegal will be based in Franceville, where minister Assele said the stadium is well prepared and “ready for kick-off.”

Also in Libreville, the Amitie stadium should be operational for the two opening day matches (Gabon-Guinea Bissau, Cameroon-Burkina Faso) on January 14.

However the fourth host city, Gabon’s main seaport, Port-Gentil, presents logistical and other challenges for the organisers because it is an island with no bridge connecting it to the mainland.

That means fans of Group D, which comprises Egypt, Ghana, Uganda and Mali, will have to travel by boat or plane to the centre of the country’s oil and timber industries.

The new 20,000-capacity stadium has just been completed and the pitch is set to be tested in a match on January 5, only 12 days before Ghana take on Uganda and Egypt face Mali there.

The mayor has deployed road and gutter cleaning crews in a city where hundreds of workers in the oil industry have been laid off and where post-election violence erupted in September.

Port-Gentil represents a reliable political barometer of Gabon, where Bongo’s reelection has been rejected by opposition leader Jean Ping, who claims the president’s victory on August 27 was obtained through vote fraud.

Four days later, violent, deadly clashes erupted as demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

“The African Cup of Nations will change nothing in our daily life,” moaned 37-year-old Jean-Yves, a mechanic who’s been unemployed for three years.

“The crisis is still ongoing. The tournament will not feed those who are hungry. The millions spent on the stadium could have been used to finance projects.”

Two political activists have called for the ‘boycott and sabotage’ of CAN if it is not moved from Gabon “to a more stable country”.

“The four host cities, Libreville, Franceville, Port-Gentil and Oyem have experienced the largest backlash against the rigged declaration of Ali Bongo Odimba as president,” the activists, Marc Ona Essangui, of Gabon, and Frenchman Laurent Duarte, claimed in their public letter to African Football Confederation (CAF) boss Issa Hayatou.

“The bloody repression of the population and the current instability in the country means the continent’s major sporting event must be moved to another country.”

Last month CAF said it had no plans to switch the event from Gabon, named hosts after Libya were stripped of its right in the wake of violence and instability breaking out in the north African country following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

Ali Bongo was sworn in Tuesday as Gabon’s president after the country’s top court controversially validated his fiercely contested election win, taking his family’s reign over the oil-rich country into a fifth decade.

“I pledge to devote all my efforts for the good of the Gabonese people and to ensure their well-being… and respect and defend the constitution and the rule of law,” the 57-year-old said.

Cannons were fired during the ceremony in the seafront presidential palace in Libreville, as fears of fresh violence resurfaced.

The event was attended by a handful of African leaders including the presidents of Mali, Niger, Togo and Sao Tome — as well as the prime ministers of Chad, Senegal, the Central African Republic and Morocco — but most regional and continental heavyweights stayed away.

Government spokesman Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze said Bongo wanted to install “a unity government by this week or the start of next week”.

Bongo’s second mandate has received a cool reception from the African Union and the United Nations, while the European Union voiced regret that the count had not been transparent.

The Gabonese spokesman was dismissive of former colonial ruler France — which sent its ambassador to the event.

“Whether they come or not doesn’t change anything. France has no diplomacy any more. It’s getting its orders from Brussels,” he said.

Bongo’s wafer-thin victory in the August 27 vote was confirmed on Saturday by the country’s top court, which dismissed opposition claims of vote fraud.

Ping, 73, who came second in the vote, lashed the court’s ruling as a miscarriage of justice and declared himself “president elect”.

He has so far not responded to Bongo’s overtures for a dialogue.

A career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, Ping had filed a legal challenge after Bongo was declared the winner by a mere 6,000 votes.

Violence initially erupted on August 31 after Bongo was first declared the winner. Demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

Ping had asked for a recount in Haut-Ogooue province, where 95 percent of voters in the Bongo family stronghold were reported to have cast their ballots for the president on a turnout of more than 99 percent.

In its final tally, the court ruled Bongo had won 50.66 percent of the vote (172,990 votes) and Ping 47.24 percent (161,287 votes).

Lukewarm response

The European Union’s electoral observer mission said Sunday it “regretted” that Gabon’s top court “had been unable to satisfactorily rectify anomalies observed during the count”.

The African Union said it had “taken note” of the court’s verdict, as did UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

France said that the court verdict clearing Bongo’s victory “has not lifted all the doubts” about the process.

Bongo’s family has exercised a long grip on power in the oil- and mineral-rich country of 1.8 million people.

Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years until his death in 2009.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, who is 83 and has held office since 1982, wrote to Bongo Monday voicing his “warm congratulations”, wishing him “success in the accomplishment of (his) new mandate”.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall also congratulated Bongo, as did Ivory Coast head of state Alassane Ouattara.

“In the delicate period which Gabon is going through, I want to express to you my full encouragement and hope passionately that dialogue and calm will predominate between all the parties,” Ouattara wrote in a statement.

A wounded supporter of Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping lies on the ground in Libreville on August 31, 2016, during clashes with riot police as part of a protest sparked after Gabon's president Ali Bongo was declared winner of last weekend's contested election.
/ AFP PHOTO / MARCO LONGARI

The African Cup of Nations continental football finals will go ahead as scheduled in Gabon despite the wave of riots following president Ali Bongo’s re-election, African football authorities confirmed on Thursday.

“There will be no change, we are following proceedings closely,” African football confederation media spokesman Junior Binyam told AFP.

The 16 nation bi-annual finals are scheduled to take place between January 14-February 5 in Gabon after original hosts Libya were stripped of the competition due to their ongoing civil conflict.

“As things stand the schedule is being maintained,” Binyam insisted. “The draw for the finals will take place at Libreville (on) October 19 as scheduled.”

However, he warned things could change.

“The situation will be debated and evaluated at the annual CAF meetings (in Cairo) between September 21-27,” he explained.

When asked if the finals could possibly be moved in the case of escalated violence, Binyam said: “The time has not yet come to discus that.”

The 2015 edition of the finals also switched venue a mere two months ahead of the finals when Morocco was stripped of hosting rights following its request to delay the tournament due to fears over the Ebola virus.

Those finals were eventually staged on schedule but in Equatorial Guinea, who also co-hosted the 2012 edition with the current 2017 hosts Gabon.

The 32 matches will take place at four venues, two of them in Libreville, one at Franceville and the fourth at Port Gentil.

Overnight riots on Wednesday saw a thousand people arrested after Bongo was declared winner of disputed presidential polls.

Thousands of angry protesters poured onto the streets of Libreville late on Wednesday, accusing the government of stealing the election after Bongo won a second term by a razor-thin margin over rival Jean Ping.

His victory is set to extend the Bongo family’s almost 50-year rule over the small oil-rich nation.

Angry protesters set fire to Gabon’s national assembly on Wednesday as thousands of people took the streets after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had been re-elected, witnesses said.

“The whole building is catching fire,” said a man at the scene called Yannick.

AFP journalists further away saw a plume of fire and smoke rising into the air above the building.

“They got in and burned it,” Yannick told AFP, saying the security forces had pulled back from the area. They had been deployed there since Tuesday afternoon, when the results were initially due to be published.

The national assembly lies on the same road as several important institutions, among them the senate, the oil ministry, several embassies and the headquarters of state television.

The clashes erupted as soon as Bongo was declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential poll, with opposition supporters chanting “Ali must go!”

As chaos erupted on the streets outside, Bongo hailed the outcome of the election, which he declared had been “peaceful and transparent” despite the opposition crying foul.

“I want to reiterate our primary victory: this election was exemplary,” he said in his first remarks since the result was announced.

A wounded supporter of Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping lies on the ground in Libreville on August 31, 2016, during clashes with riot police as part of a protest sparked after Gabon's president Ali Bongo was declared winner of last weekend's contested election.
/ AFP PHOTO / MARCO LONGARI

Gabon’s president Ali Bongo was declared winner Wednesday of contested weekend elections, extending half-a-century of rule by the Bongo family which sparked clashes in the Central African nation.

Protesters shouting “Ali must go!” tried to storm the offices of the election commission shortly after authorities announced his re-election by a narrow majority.

Bongo won 49.80 of the vote against 48.23 percent for his rival Jean Ping, or a razor-thin 5,594 votes of a total 627,805 registered voters, Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet-Boubeya.

Bongo, whose father held onto power for four decades, sought relection after winning a first term in 2009 in a poll that was marred by violence.

His rival, half-Chinese ex-diplomat Jean Ping, had also claimed victory, sparking fears of violence and the deployment of anti-riot police around the capital Libreville.

Any appeal by Ping would be likely to focus on disputed results in one of the country’s nine provinces — the Haut-Ogooue, the heartland of Bongo’s Teke ethnic group.

In Saturday’s vote, turnout was 59.46 percent nationwide but soared to 99.93 per cent in Haut-Ogooue, where Bongo won 95.5 percent of votes.

“It’s going to be difficult to get people to accept these results,” one member of the electoral commission confided to AFP, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

“We’ve never seen results like these, even during the father’s time,” he added.

Opposition delegates in the electoral commission boycotted a vote to approve the results on Wednesday and they have vowed to fight for a recount.

‘Credible results’As fears rose of a contested result and violence, the electoral commission and Bongo came under pressure from fellow politicians and the international community to deliver a fair outcome.

“The European Union repeats the call made by the head of its observer mission that results should be published for each polling booth,” a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

The ruling party’s number two, Faustin Boukoubi, also broke ranks, calling for “fundamentally credible results” in order to maintain peace, “the most precious acquisition of the last decades.”

On Tuesday afternoon anti-riot police took position around the capital Libreville and later established checkpoints in various parts of the capital, blocking access to the presidential palace.

Light armoured vehicles also began to patrol along the Atlantic coast.